Bob Frantz: Indians fans, time to keep your promise -- head to the ballpark

Apologies to Ernie Banks for bastardizing his classic line about the joy of a day at the ballpark, but I think this really needs to be said. Again.

It seems like only last week that I wrote last year's version of this column, which has become an annual occurrence, and I was hoping I wouldn't have to do one this year.

In fact, based on the promises made by so many Indians' fans, I shouldn't have to now.

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You remember those promises, right? The ones that went something like, "If the Dolans ever start spending some money on this team, then I'll spend my money on tickets!"

Even though that particular argument was backwards, because it takes a fan base's support at the turnstiles to generate revenue the owners can then use to improve the roster, I understood the point.

I didn't agree with it, but I understood it.

Chris Perez didn't agree with it, either, and when he spoke up about it, the fans turned on him faster than Mark Reynolds on an inside fastball.

I can only wonder how they'll treat Frank Herrmann, who is out for the season after Tommy John surgery in March, if he ever makes it back.

Herrmann took to Twitter this week to address the pathetic state of Indians' attendance, which is dead last -- by a lot -- in Major League Baseball, despite a $117 million spending binge in the offseason, a dramatically improved roster, perfect weather on the current homestand and one of baseball's hottest teams.

"I would never tell people how to spend their hard earned disposable income," Hermann tweeted, "but sub 10,000 fans back-to-back nights to see the hottest team in baseball is not getting it done."

No, it isn't.

And it's embarrassing.

Like Herrmann, we media-types who attend 70 or more home games each season on media credentials, in the course of doing our jobs, have no right to tell any individual how to spend their money. What we can do, however, is point out how disappointing the attendance is, as a collective, especially when the ball club the fans are supporting relies so heavily on ticket and concession sales to survive.

Let's revisit those promises now.

Has the Indians' ownership and front office lived up to their end of the unofficial bargain? That $117 million spent on high-caliber free agents over the winter and spring is second only to the large-market Angels.

It's precisely what fans demanded.

The major-league roster, so lacking in overall talent a year ago, has added the likes of Mark Reynolds, Nick Swisher, Michael Bourn and Drew Stubbs, among others. This is clearly a better product, 1 through 25 on the big-league roster, and even in depth through the 40-man.

Exactly what fans demanded.

And let's not forget the manager. GM Chris Antonetti went out and recruited the hottest commodity and the most accomplished manager available, paying a king's ransom of Dolan money to bring Terry Francona to Cleveland.

It's the type of financial commitment that the fans, quite frankly, demanded.

And it's working.

The Indians are an exciting, competitive club night in and night out, bringing major entertainment value for every fan's dollar. They are at or near the top of the MLB standings in home runs. Don't chicks still dig the long ball?

They've gotten better-than-expected starting pitching, to go along with a world-class bullpen, and have provided multiple late-inning heroics on the way to improbable victories.

Going into Wednesday night's game, they had won eight of their last nine games and 11 of their last 15. They have the majors' highest winning percentage since April 20, have gone an impressive 6-1 on the homestand against the Phillies, Twins and A's, yet no one seems to care.

Well, not enough to buy tickets, anyway.

As Hermann noted, less than 10,000 fans showed up to the first two Oakland games, and just 10,000 and 12,000 made it out for the Phillies.

The Indians are more than 4 percent behind last year's attendance pace. They are averaging more than 4,000 fans fewer than the second-worst attended team in the majors.

So when, exactly, do the fans plan to keep that promise to the team?

And before the excuses start flying, please be aware that I've heard them all on the radio and through social media.

The weather, right? There has been far worse weather in the first six weeks of the season in many cities that are far out-drawing the Indians.

The losing history, right? They haven't won consistently enough to earn your trust and your money? Well, the Pittsburgh Pirates haven't had a winning season in two decades, a stretch during which the Indians have been to two World Series and two other American League Championship Series, yet the Bucs are outdrawing the Indians by nearly 8,000 fans per game.

The economy stinks, right? Yes, it does. But no worse than it does in the other 29 MLB cities who are struggling to rebound from recession right along with us, but whose fans find a way to get to games.

The ticket prices, right? The Indians have lowered the cost of tickets for many games through dynamic pricing, making it affordable for virtually every fan to attend as many games as they like. Concession prices were lowered, too.

We can go through the list of excuses for hours, but at the end of the day, the same obstacles exist in 29 other major league cities, and their fans hurdle those obstacles at a far better rate than we do.

It's time to head to the ballpark, friends.

You promised.

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Bob Frantz hosts "The Bob Frantz Show" on WTAM-AM 1100 from 7 p.m. to midnight weeknights, and following Cavaliers, Indians and Browns games.